Tag Archives: Emmanuel Matadi

﻿The International Association Athletics Foundation 2017 World Championships in London has officially begun. The last time we covered this topic it was to introduce the four man team. Although Liberia’s newly formed 4×100 team did not qualify, Liberia was given the opportunity to send one unqualified male and one unqualified female. Liberia sent Emmanuel Matadi to compete in the Men’s 100 meter race.

In the preliminary round, the first 3 in each heat and the next 2 fastest will advance. Matadi competed in Heat 1 and placed first in his heat with a 10.27 (+1.4 wind) qualifying mark.

In his second race, Matadi placed 4th in Heat 1 with a time of 10.24. The qualification for advancing includes the first 3 in each heat and the next 6 fastest times. Even though Matadi placed 4th, he was in the next 6 fastest times overall so he has advanced on to the semifinals.

We wish him well as he competes again on Saturday August 5, 2017 at 7:05pm (2:05pm Eastern). NBC Sports is broadcasting the competition.

It has been nine months since the 2016 Summer Olympic games. Many Olympians have jumped right back into the groove of preparing for meets, including Liberia’s very own. Since the beginning of 2017 Emmanuel Matadi has competed in four meets.

Matadi ran the 100 meter race in 9.96s (+3.0 wind) at the Longhorn Invitational in Austin, Texas at Myers Stadium on April 29, 2017. This time ranks him at number six under Wind Assisted Marks on IAAF’s website. We wish him continued success!

“The value is not in the money. The value is in the cooperation.” – Samuel Koimene

On August 4, Samuel Komiene decided to take action. He, along with friends: Angelo Koimene, Thomas Yolain, and Chris Konneh make up “The Herd”, a group that symbolizes unity and togetherness. The Herd is responsible for the $10,000 “Supporting Our Own: Olympian” GoFundMe Campaign circulating around the internet. In 14 days, the campaign raised $1,990, but still has a long way to go. Below, Samuel shares what inspired him and his friends to start the campaign and how he plans to get the money to the athletes.

Emmanuel Matadi wraps up his Olympic debut with a 20.49 seconds run in Round 1 of the Men’s 200 meters. He ranks 30 out of the 76 athletes who competed. Liberia will not advance to the semi-finals, but both Matadi and Kromah have represented the nation well and made Liberians around the world proud.

Stay tuned. These athletes have a long road ahead of them to the next major competition. We might just see them next year at the World Athletics Championship in London. Let’s go Team Liberia!

Emmanuel Matadi places 6th in his Men’s 100 meters heat clocking a 10.31 sec race. He will not advance to the Men’s 100 m Semi-finals, but he still has a chance in the Men’s 200 meters race on Tuesday August 16.

As the fifth day of the Rio 2016 Summer Olympics begins, South Africa remains the only African country to receive a medal at this year’s competition. So far, South Africa has won two Olympic medals, both silvers in swimming—Men’s 100m Breastroke and Men’s 200m Freestyle.

African countries win the majority of their medals in Athletics — commonly referred to as track and field— with Kenya, South Africa, and Ethiopia being the top three African countries in Olympic history.

The Parade of Nations is the most highly anticipated portion of the Opening Ceremony. Typically, nations display outfits of their respective cultures. For Rio 2016, many nations decided to go the casual route in simple pieces of blazers and slacks/shorts sets; similar to Liberia’s outfit choice in its first appearance at the 1956 Olympics in Melbourne.

The traditional full garb of Liberia made its appearance at the 1988 Olympics in Seoul and has remained true to this style even now in Rio.

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The Olympic torch is in Rio and we are hours away from the opening ceremony. Watch the athletes parade into the Olympic Stadium tonight online. Follow @libolympicblog on Twitter for live tweets. Until then, check out our favorite clips of Liberians carrying the flag.